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for $2 billion per mile, the most expensive subway project in world history, I would expect the new 2nd avenue subway extension in NY to look as good or better as the fine subways of Europe,
the Stockholm Subway System is said to be the world’s longest art exhibit. Travelling by metro is like travelling through an exciting story that extends from the artistic pioneers of the 1950s to the art experiments of today. Over 90 of the 100 subway stations in Stockholm have been decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, engravings and reliefs by over 150 artists. What a fun and inexpensive way to explore the art and culture of an incredible city like Stockholm!...
...but in the end the 2nd avenue extension will probably look like every other subway station in NYC, with lovely brown mystery stains smeared all over the bare concrete walls. but that's just part of the wonderful urban subway art of NYC capturing the real-world ambiance of being in a big city sewer. you get all that for only 17 billion dollars!
...but in the end the 2nd avenue extension will probably look like every other subway station in NYC, with lovely brown mystery stains smeared all over the bare concrete walls.
The walls in most NYC subway stations aren't bare concrete; they're covered with subway tile. They do have brown stains, though.
what do you think the labor costs are for maintaining and stationing hundreds of thousands of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? Reuters says at least $3.7 trillion to date. oh, I see. you're not the least bit concerned about flushing unlimited billions and trillions we don't have down the toilet to fight pointless wars and borrowing vast amounts of money from china to keep from going bankrupt. but when it comes to public transit, you want to scrutinize every last penny...gotcha.
WOW!!! Settle down..
All I did was ask for a source of your numbers. I completely agree with your general stance, but I would like do my part and spread this information around.
Thing is, I know there will be folks who'll try to claim those numbers don't include labor, maintenance, etc., and will ultimately want a definitive source for them before considering those numbers as factual.
New embassy complex in Baghdad, Iraq has been built recently at the cost of 750 million dollars of tax payers money. not a single republican/conservative/tea bagger ever said anything about this colossal waste. but come public transportation/rail/bus, they jump on to say cut the funding, we cannot afford it.
New embassy complex in Baghdad, Iraq has been built recently at the cost of 750 million dollars of tax payers money. not a single republican/conservative/tea bagger ever said anything about this colossal waste. but come public transportation/rail/bus, they jump on to say cut the funding, we cannot afford it.
the largest embassy in the world but the term 'embassy' is misleading. it's really a military base housing thousands of US troops and other personnel, disguised as an 'embassy.' the US military obviously doesn't plan on leaving Iraq any time soon, or ever. its also the most expensive 'embassy' in world history at nearly a billion dollars just to build it and that's just the beginning. the annual operating costs go up into the tens of billions.
the largest embassy in the world but the term 'embassy' is misleading. it's really a military base housing thousands of US troops and other personnel, disguised as an 'embassy.' the US military obviously doesn't plan on leaving Iraq any time soon, or ever. its also the most expensive 'embassy' in world history at nearly a billion dollars just to build it and that's just the beginning. the annual operating costs go up into the tens of billions.
It's mostly housing civilian contractors and the like now... I agree, not really an embassy. The occupation by troops may be over, but the occupation by bureaucrat is only just beginning. All embassies have some form of security, but Baghdad definitely takes it to its own level. It's basically a fully autonomous city within a city, fortified to the teeth.
All I did was ask for a source of your numbers. I completely agree with your general stance, but I would like do my part and spread this information around.
Thing is, I know there will be folks who'll try to claim those numbers don't include labor, maintenance, etc., and will ultimately want a definitive source for them before considering those numbers as factual.
I don't see why operating costs would be any higher than for buses. the labor is the same or less. labor cost per passenger is less in many cases because of higher capacity of rail cars, the ability to link cars together, etc. reducing the number of drivers. a few things to consider about the costs. (I don't want to bash buses too much because they certainly have their uses, but its useful to have a reference point).
* rail cars are more expensive than buses but they also last 4 to 5 times longer. buses have to be replaced every 10 years, rail cars every 40 to 50 years.
* buses require more fuel since they run on 100% fossil fuels. steel on rail is the most fuel efficient form of mass transport known to man, so you save on fuel costs. in contrast to rubber on pavement, with rail technology the energy loss due to friction is minimal. with combustion engines you also have a tremendous loss of power lost to due to heat because the engine gets extremely hot. combustion-based transportation is just all-around very inefficient. whereas with electric rail technology the energy produced by the trains is negligible so loss of power from heat is insignificant.
* cars and buses do a lot of damage to the pavement, which must be periodically resurfaced. rail runs on steel so thats not an issue. rail tracks don't require any pavement. in European cities streetcar tracks are frequently laid on grassy surfaces.
* initial construction costs depends on the type of rail. streetcars are around half the cost of light rail because they run at lower speeds. in downtown areas where you don't need a lot of speed, going with a streetcar system might be more prudent.
* it makes sense to put rail on the busiest corridors and routes. buses make more sense on the routes that aren't so busy and more lightly traveled streets, serving as a compliment to the rail backbone. the best transit systems are the ones with a good mix of both.
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